Stranger Than
by Zero Phantasm
Summary: Sometimes, reality is stranger than fiction. Neku learned this firsthand thanks to the Reaper's Game. However, now that those three weeks are over and he's back in the world of the living... It's time to face reality head on: Including reuniting with the family he chose to distance himself from after his friend's death. (Semi-AU) (Experimental Fic)
1. Chapter 1

**See below for Author's Notes.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The World Ends With You nor OreImo. They belong to their respective owners. This is merely being written for fun.**

* * *

Neku Sakuraba was nervous. Rightfully so, all things considered.

After the hellish three weeks that were his experience in the Reaper's Game, he had been granted a second chance at life. Granted, he hadn't expected that second chance to start with being shot through the chest by someone he had grown to consider a friend, but… As he found himself hesitating in the middle of the sidewalk-just yards away from his destination-such circumstances were the furthest things from his mind.

After all, he was finally going home to the family he had left behind well before his entry into the Underground of Shibuya.

Once he had woken up in the Scramble Crossing for the fourth time, he had been angry and confused-understandably so, considering what had tended to follow the past three times he had woken up on the concrete there. Thankfully, he had been quickly found by Mr. Hanekoma and led back to the Wild Kat Cafe to have a chance to calm down and get his bearings, while the older man gave him a cup of the house blend and explained how things would work with his second chance at life.

" _Listen, 'Phones. As far as the world is concerned, you never really died. You were put into a coma by that gunshot, and people thought you'd never wake up. It's corny, and far from perfect, I know. However, it's the only way we could work things for you, considering your circumstances."_

While Neku agreed that it was rather corny, he was still grateful that he wouldn't have to explain why he was suddenly back from the dead and with a new outlook on life. Yet… Even that was a minor concern for him.

' _Yeah… Like coming back from the dead will make everything right between me and my family…'_ The orange-haired teen thought to himself with a sigh. It was a tough pill to swallow, but he had to face facts: His attitude before his first week of the Reaper's Game had been absolute crap. A grimace crossed his features as he recalled some of the beliefs he had once held, all while continuing his steady trek back to his home…

… Only to snap out of his thoughts when he felt something hard and wood collide with his front. _'... Okay, I must be really out of it if I've started walking_ _ **into**_ _doors like that.'_ He mused, before shaking his head and taking a deep breath. There was only one way to get through this, and that was to just get it over with.

Casting off his hesitation to the best of his ability, Neku adjusted the bag hoisted over his shoulder once before raising a hand up and knocking on the door twice. Moments passed, silence reigned, and a feeling of anxiety settled in the pit of his stomach… Up until the door opened to reveal a middle aged woman with brown, wavy hair and matching eyes that-upon seeing him-widened exponentially. In this situation, Neku could only think of one thing to say:

"Hi mom… I'm home."

A simple sentence, but the bone-crushing and tearful hug he was pulled into not even a moment after he said it showed just how much weight it carried. And not long after, a small smile made its way onto the orange-haired teen's lips.

' _Yeah… I'm finally home…'_

* * *

It hadn't taken long after Yoshino Kousaka released her formerly-wayward son from her embrace that the entire family had been gathered into the living room for a meeting, and upon seeing his father and sister, Neku couldn't help but feel a strange mix of nostalgia and shock.

 _'Dad hasn't changed much at all. Though, he seems… a bit more mellow?'_ Neku observed his father, whose expression seemed neutral-almost impassive-but the teen esper knew better. The man just had trouble expressing himself at times, and considering what had transpired in the past, it was understandable that this would be one of those times.

On the other hand… Was his little sister, Kirino. Neku almost did a double take when he saw just how much his sister had changed.

 _'Was I gone three weeks, or three years..?!'_ He wondered silently, seeing her hair dyed to a light brown, and the overwhelming sense of mature style she seemed to exude now. Though, perhaps more startlingly… Was the sharp glare she was sending his way. And almost immediately, Neku's mind wandered to back to the times where she had been a lot shorter, all smiles, and used to follow him everywhere.

A time before _it_ happened: The local murder case that set everything in motion.

 _'No,'_ Neku stopped himself, _'Now isn't the time to dwell on the past. Focus on the now.'_

"It's good to see that you made a full recovery, son. When the doctors informed us that you may never wake up, we… We were devastated, to put it simply." Daisuke Kousaka began, a faint upwards curve tugging at the corners of his lips, showing that he was indeed happy for his son's return. "I feel as though that with your return, our family can finally move forward again-" Anything further was cut off when Neku raised a hand up to stop him.

"Dad… There's something I need to say before I can see that happening." He began, taking a bit of a shaky breath, and proceeding. "I… did a lot of thinking during my rehabilitation, and on my way back. What happened to me helped put a lot of things in perspective, and… I just want to say, I'm… I'm sorry, for how I acted before. I realize there was nothing that could be done, and.. As much as it still hurts to think about, I realize that you did all that you could to make things right, and I pretty much spat on that… On this family. So… Again, I'm sorry."

It was sappy, and perhaps a bit awkward, but… Neku knew he needed to say it. However, the response he got wasn't the one he expected.

"Tch… A bit late, don't you think?" Came an annoyed snap from Kirino, earning a raised eyebrow from Neku as he regarded her, and a startled look from Yoshino. Daisuke gave no clear reaction, but it was easy to see that he was ready to speak up should things get out of hand.

"Kirino! That was uncalled for! Apologize this instant!" Yoshino scolded, only to get a dirty look from the youngest present that had her actually recoil a bit.

"Why should I?! He made it clear back then that he wanted nothing to do with us, and he went and abandoned us! So why should we welcome him back so readily?! We were doing just fine without him!" Neku winced at his sister's harsh words, the truth in them carrying a sharp bite that he couldn't possibly ignore. Kirino-on the other hand-seemed to have had enough with the family meeting, and stormed off.

At this, Daisuke and Yoshino shared a look before the former sighed. "I… apologize for Kirino's behavior. Your hospitalization hit her rather hard, so I imagine that she has a lot to sort out right now." He began, before shooting Neku a sincere smile. One that immediately managed to put the orange-haired youth at ease. "However… I'm glad to hear such words from you, Neku. You may not have been gone long, but you've done a lot of maturing, and I'm proud of you, son. I just still wish I could set things right back then, so none of this would've happened…"

"Tell you what, Neku," Yoshino interjected, seeing a chance to offer up an idea that came to her, "Why don't you go get settled back in your room, and I'll get started on making your favorite for dinner to celebrate your return home?" She offered, and at this, Neku couldn't help but smile softly.

 _'It's good to be back home…'_

* * *

Two days had passed since Neku's return home and the simultaneous reunion with the family he had forsaken out of hurt and anger, and things had hit a degree of normalcy that the esper couldn't help but appreciate… For the most part.

It was hard getting used to having a little sister that seemingly hated your guts, after all.

Beyond that, Neku had told his parents about some friends he had made 'during rehab'. It had come as a bit of a surprise to learn that his father was at least acquainted with Beat, but… In the end, it made a startling degree of sense that he felt better off _not_ questioning. His mother seemed interested in meeting Shiki, but the gleam in her eyes had left Neku wary of letting such a meeting come to pass.

And Neku wasn't sure what to make of his parents' reactions to when he described Joshua. In the end, he decided against asking about it, fearing that the answer may make him want to punch the silver-haired Composer in the face yet again.

Either way, today marked a special occasion for the orange-haired esper: The anniversary of _her_ death. And for that, he made it a point to visit her grave to just… Talk. It may have been pointless and stupid in the eyes of others, but to him… It provided a sort of comfort. And much to his relief, his parents had understood just how much it meant for him, and raised no fuss with him being gone for the day to visit.

 _'It's kind of ironic, Manami…'_ Neku found himself thinking as he made his way to the cemetery his childhood friend rested in. _'You passing away ended up helping me find my way to becoming a better person. I.. I really don't know how to feel about that, honestly…'_ Sighing to himself, Neku simply continued his trek, with his only company being the music playing through his signature headphones.

However, when he was a mere few yards away from Manami's grave, a surprising sight was what greeted him. Sitting before the grave was a blue-haired girl that was all-too-familiar to him.

"... Ayase?" He called out, getting a start out of the girl, who then looked in his direction with wide eyes.

"O-onii-san..?!" She yelped in surprise, but soon managed to gather herself and stand up. Brushing some dirt off herself, the blue-haired girl known as Aragaki Ayase carefully and hesitantly made her way over to Neku… Almost as if she were afraid that one wrong move would make him disappear. Neku-however-merely offered a soft smile at seeing this.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm back and here to stay." He replied, only to end up blinking in surprise when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him in a tight embrace as Ayase began to cry.

"Y-You really came back… He wasn't lying..!" She got out between sobs, her voice muffled slightly by his shirt as she clung to the older teen for dear life. Upon hearing that, however, Neku could only make one guess: She had found out the truth. And he had either Joshua or Mr. Hanekoma to thank and/or blame for that.

After managing to calm the blunette down, Neku found himself sitting in front of Manami's grave with Ayase at his side, and an awkward silence persisting between the two. It wasn't hard for either of them to see why, when they thought back to what their last interaction had been before Neku's untimely death and entrance into the Reaper's Game.

 _"I hate you, onii-san..! You're turning away your own family, even Kirino, just to be alone… You're hurting them! Someone like you should just disappear!"_

Spiteful words, only spoken out of anger and hurt yet carrying a weight to them to this day. How did one move on from having said those things to another who died not long after, only to come back three weeks later? Much to Ayase's relief, however, Neku was the one who broke the silence.

"So… You found out about the Reaper's Game, huh?" He asked hesitantly, almost unsure of himself and if he had understood what she had said correctly. Ayase nodded in response, confirming Neku's suspicion fully.

"Y-yeah… It happened during the first week you were gone. I saw you shopping with some stylish girl in Shibuya, and looking like you were having a good time, and… I got angry. I thought you had just faked your death to really leave everything behind." She began, earning a raised eyebrow from Neku, having not expected to have been seen by someone he knew during his time in the UG. Regardless, he let Ayase continue on.

"I went after you to give you a piece of my mind, and… When I got to the door, I saw the two of you just disappear into thin air. I… thought I had started going crazy, to be honest. I tried asking around if anyone saw the same thing, but… Only one person didn't dismiss me as crazy, and he even offered to talk with me. His name was-" At this, Neku interjected.

"Mr. Hanekoma. So, he's the one who told you about it… At least it wasn't someone else I know." Neku muttered, suppressing a shudder at the thought of what kind of trouble would unfold if Joshua of all people had been the one to talk with Ayase. The guy was a good friend, but a total troll through and through. Even Shiki-who rarely spoke ill of anyone-was inclined to agree with that sentiment. Ayase merely blinked in confusion, before nodding and continuing on with her tale.

"Y-Yeah… He talked me through everything that happened, and helped me get… Well, he helped me get a better perspective on everything. From what I had seen, to how you were up and about despite dying… And even some of the things from before…" At this point, the blue-haired girl began to tear up a bit.

"He… Offered to give me updates on how you were faring. I accepted, and… Gods, I'm so sorry, Neku…" Now _that_ came as a surprise to the orange-haired esper. While she was a kind-hearted girl, apologies were a surprisingly difficult thing for Ayase. And to not call him 'onii-san like she usually did helped drive home how serious she was about this.

"I… I was so stupid back then. I never took the time to think about how you felt about losing someone like Manami, and I just… I've been regretting what I said to you every day since Mr. Hanekoma talked with me." At this, Ayase was fully crying; her despair and regrets breaking through the proverbial 'dam' that had kept them bottled up inside.

She also felt fear: Fear that Neku hated her for invading his privacy like she had, for acting so horribly to him before his death… For a lot of the times where she had let her feelings for his sister color her interactions with him. That he would reject her, and there would be nothing she could do to make up for her past mistakes.

… Much to her shock, she soon found herself wrapped in a pair of thin yet strong arms wrap around her in a comforting embrace. _'Wha..?'_

"Hey, there's no need to apologize for all that. I wasn't exactly an innocent party myself back then. I had a bad attitude before my time in the Reaper's game, and I was handling her death in all the wrong ways. You were more in the right than I was, at least. So… Come on, cheer up." At this, Neku offered her a slight smile.

Ayase's reaction was to simply hold on to the esper even tighter than before.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight… Your third week was spent entirely on a wild goose chase because your partner forgot what the Reaper Sports were?" Ayase asked with a stifled chuckle. Neku nodded and sighed.

"It didn't help that he also sneezed like a freaking elephant whenever it came to explanations. Seriously, it was like clockwork!" At Neku's statement, Ayase couldn't help it anymore and laughed outright.

After having calmed down again, Ayase had decided to move onto a brighter note by asking Neku about some of the brighter times he had while in the UG. She had found that Neku's interactions with Beat provided a good amount of humor, though… Hearing about Shiki practically ripping his shorts off in the middle of the street just to repair a loose button had her both amused and a bit jealous.

 _'I-I'm not a pervert at all! I just wish I was close enough to Onii-san to feel comfortable doing something like that. … Sans the clothes stripping, o-of course!'_ Ah, denial. It's a beautiful thing.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. Taking a look up at the sky, Neku was surprised by how late it had gotten. And he had yet to pay his respects.

"Hey, Ayase? Mind waiting for me at the entrance? It's getting late, and I still need to do something here before we head home." He asked, getting a nod and a soft smile in response.

"Of course, onii-san. Take all the time you need." With that said, the blunette began to walk towards the cemetery's entrance as what was asked of her… All the while, a new resolve had began to form in her heart.

 _'I promise you now, onii-san… You'll never be alone again. You'll always have me on your side, ready to take on anything and everything just to make sure that you can enjoy your second chance at life to the fullest… And maybe, even enjoy my company as well-No! Bad Ayase!'_

Thus marked the beginning of a new life for Neku Sakuraba: With a renewed bond with his family, a new challenge in the form of dealing with his little sister… And of course, having unknowingly captured the heart of a blue-haired yandere. And god only knew what awaited in the near future.

* * *

Chapter 1 - "The Prodigal Esper's Return"... Fin

* * *

 **A/N: So I needed a break from writing Naruto fics for a while, so I'm starting up this little project I've had in the works for a while now. We never do learn much-if anything-about Neku's past… Especially anything involving his family. The most we get-from what I recall-is in the extra reports that mention that a friend of Neku's died.**

 **So, I starting thinking up this crazy idea. End of story. Also, I think this is the first story of this crossover? If it is, awesome. I managed another first. Either way, until next time, folks!**


	2. Announcement - Please Read!

**Hey, everyone! Zero Phantasm here, letting you all know that I am not dead! I've been dealing with a lot in real life lately. My mother's rapidly declining health, personal hospitalizations, college shenanigans, raising a puppy, distractions a la Fate/Grand Order, family drama… The list goes on, but I'm not going to bore you kind folks with all the details.**

 **I'm also making this notice to give you guys an update on just where each of my fics stand currently… And don't worry, I'm including a sampler of something to come in the near-ish future so that I'm not breaking the site's rules. Gotta' have** _ **some**_ **story in a chapter, right?**

 _ **SOLO WORKS:**_

" **Stranger Than"** ** ** ** ** ** ** **(You are here!)************ \- In Progress… Kind of. I'm still planning out Chapter 2, and working on tweaking chapter 1 a bit to help it flow better.**

" **Burning Through The Ages"** **\- In Progress! Chapter 2 is coming along nicely for this one! Had a biiit of a hangup on how to proceed, but I finally got past that, and things are progressing steadily again.**

" **The Orange Overlord"** **\- In Progress, but stalled. I've been trying to write for this, but inspiration hasn't exactly been abundant for this one. I will get it done, however.**

" **Of Rivals And Lolis PLUS"** **\- Hiatus. I'm still trying to figure out what the fuck I was taking when I wrote this bit.**

" **Solar Fox"** **\- Rewrite Pending. Being one of my older works, I took a look back at this puppy and** _ **cringed.**_ **Yeah, I'm not letting one of my pioneering crossovers stay like that.**

" **Legacy Zero RELOAD"** **\- Re-rewrite Pending. Same as above. I had some good ideas, but… I need to revamp the execution.**

" **Omamori Naruto" - Dead. I was basically reskinning the manga with little to no changes, and flying by the seat of my pants. I may revisit the idea of rewriting this fic someday, but… For now, it's not in the cards.**

" **His World" - Dead. Dead dead dead. And the guy who said he'd adopt the fic hasn't done shit with it to my knowledge, so… Yeah, anyone want this? No? Thought so.**

" **Magan no Naruto" - Pending a Rewrite. Nowhere near as bad as Solar Fox or LZR, but… I've grown more knowledgeable of Nasuverse lore, gone through more materials, and I can now better handle writing something like this.**

 _ **COLLAB WORKS:**_

" **Hero of Illusionary East" - Hiatus. Real life shenanigans and distractions made us lose our focus and motivation for this fic. We may end up doing a rewrite, but… Who knows?**

" **Hyperdimension Neptunia: Shinobi of Balance" - I don't even fucking know. When we started this fic, we were operating off the original first game on PS3. Then Mk.2 happened. Then the Re;Birth games, then… Yeah. We're trying to figure shit out on this before we do** _ **anything**_ **more on this baby.**

 _ **UPCOMING/PLANNED WORKS:**_

 **Unnamed Triple Crossover - Heheh… I've been working on a special surprise for you all with the help of a friend of mine. I can't say too much, but, I'll leave you a hint:**

" **Pan-paka-paaan!"**

" **... You just have to say that for every dramatic reveal you make, don'tcha, 'ttebayo."**

" **Would you rather I start going 'SUUUUUUUPER!' like a certain friend of ours?"**

" **Nonono. Stick with what you have, please."**

 **Unnamed Naruto/ 'Tales Of' Crossover - In which the Kyuubi's grudge against the Toads for sitting on it years ago seeps through into the Kuchiyose, leading to Naruto not summoning Gamabunta in that chasm, but rather… A Lord of Calamity.**

" **Gal*Gunvolt" (Azure Striker Gunvolt/Gal*Gun Crossover) - An AU fic where Gunvolt managed to resolve the fights in GV1 and 2 without killing anyone… And ends up getting noticed by a goddess as a result. Too bad the reward she sent an angel to give him got messed up, though. Especially since it wasn't made for people with Septimal Power.**

" **Shinobi Psychomancy" (TWEWY/Senran Kagura crossover) - In the end, Joshua decided to give Neku a break after everything he went through… Of course, Joshua being Joshua, it's not that easy. "... Shiki would absolutely** _ **flip**_ **if she saw this…"**

 **Undetermined Crossover with "Psycho Love Comedy" - Exactly what it says on the tin. I am entirely open to suggestions on this, by the way!**

 **Undetermined Crossover with "Rosenkreuzstilette" - Same as above.**

 **And, finally… The teaser I promised earlier! Sorry that it's not for the rewrite for this, but… Eh, I need time to actually plan that out. That, and I couldn't resist staking my claim to pioneer my third crossover section (First was Naruto/Boktai, second was TWEWY/OreImo). So, without further delay…**

"So, let me get this straight. You guys are in the middle of a war using special weaponized vehicles…" A young man-no older than 18-began, green eyes locked onto the older man before him. He was a scruffy looking blonde that somehow also held an air of undeniable reliability about him.

"Yep."

"And because one of your comrades got hurt, you're now desperately looking for a new recruit to help out and bolster your numbers against unreasonable odds…" The teen continued, eyebrow slightly twitching in annoyance at the curt response.

"You're dead on so far, kid."

"Not to mention the fact that your operations have a history of dealing with robots, aliens, zombies, and all sorts of weird stuff that seems like it's out of some B-list action flick…" He pressed on, disbelief briefly seeping into his tone of voice, before he recalled exactly what led to this meeting.

"Don't forget the clones. Those damned clones are worth mentioning, too."

"Right… And your team is entirely accepting of the fact that I'm from another time period entirely, and that I can use a variety of special armors to change up how I fight?" He continued, now raising an eyebrow.

"Kid, do we need to revisit what I described from our past battles again?"

"True enough…" The brunette muttered, before resuming his questioning. "And so far, your only available soldiers for this war are your squad-which is short one member currently-a mercenary team, and an Intelligence Division?"

"You've hit the nail on the head." The blond man remarked, before shooting the brown-haired teen a smirk. "So, tell me. You up for the challenge, kid?"

Most people would've balked at such a question. However, for the brown-haired youth known simply as "Vent"... There was only one clear answer to give:

" _When can I start?"_

At this, the blond Major named Marco Rossi laughed, before clapping Vent on the shoulder and grinning wildly.

"Welcome to the P.F. Squad, kid. You're gonna' do just fine here."

Vent's only response was a grin of his own...

 **Yep. Yeeeeeep. If you don't know what the crossover is from that, just do some Googling.**

 **So, let me know what you all think of the lineup and status of things here. I'll keep working on those updates in the meantime. Until then!**


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